Latch mechanism



June 17, 1952 CQLONNA 2,600,483

LATCH MECHANISM Filed April 18, 1949 Inventor Ang/o Colon/1a Patented June 17, 1952 UNITED STATES harem OFFICE LATCH MECHANISM .anedoconana, lihiladelphiaila.

Application April18, 1949, Serial No. 88,162

.2 Claims- 1 T 1 i vention,relatesgenerally to latches and morepa t cularly to a combination pu land catch for doors and drawers.

A, primary object ofthis invention is to provide a device for facilitating the opening and closing of doors and drawers, and in which the parts are very easy to assemble originally, and in which repair and replacement of different parts are facilitated.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of latch character wherein the parts are constructed so that a minimum tendency for breakage under conditions of hard usage results from the particular configuration and arrangeme t of the par s- Still another object of this invention is to provide a combination pull and catch for doors and drawers which is extremely simple to operate and which is positive in action.

And a last object to be mentioned speoificallyis to provide a device of the character mentioned above which is relatively inexpensive and practicable to manufacture, which will not become jammed, which will not'pi-nch the fingers, and which will give generally efficient and durable service.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is av side elevational view of the assembled device;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the assembled device, with portions broken away and underlying portions shown largely in vertical section, in order to amplify the disclosure of the elements of this invention;

Figure 3 is a top plan view;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially upon the line 4-4 in Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a three-dimensional view of the finger lift.

Briefly the preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized by a casing having complemental top, bottom, and side Walls defining an open front receiver, laterally disposed flange means integral with said Walls and providing a facing and attaching plate, said top wall being centrally recessed and providing a keyway, the latter having a guide hole, a guide fixture including a bored body with a portion keyed in said keyway, said body having outstanding flanges an n rably fastened atop said t p Wall, he bore in. said body bein poly onal in ro section..a catch havin a polygonal head reciprocable in said bore and a reduced shank operable in the bore and extending through said guide hole into said receiver, a coiled spring located in said bore, surrounding said shank and bearing forcibly against said head, a pivot pin mounted in said casing and spanning the open front of the latter, a finger-pull of a length commensurate with the length of said top wall and pivotally mounted on said pivot pin, said finger-pull embodying a finger-piece, normally flush with said flange means, and an arm underlying said top well. an edge portion of said arm being bifurcated and defining furcations, the latter straddling said shank and being separably connected with said shank.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the different views in the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, this invention is adapted to be used with an environment including a closure member, such as a drawer or door and is exemplified in the drawings as including a vertically disposed panel H! such as the front panel of a drawer and a horizontal member I2 which will be thought of as a fixed member of the cabinet or other device in which the drawer is mounted.

The device which is the subject matter of this application, includes a casing enerally indicated at M and having walls on all but what will be considered the front side .of the device, that is, the side disposed toward the front of the drawer of which the front panel is illustrated at Ill. The said walls include a sloping wall It, an integral rear wall IS, an integral top wall Zil, and side walls 22. These walls I622 define a recess 24, into which the fingers may be thrust to operate the device. A peripheral flange 2:6 is integral with the walls 16, 20 and 22 and extends outwardly from the mouth of the recess 24 to comprise an attachment plate for the casing M.

A finger lift 28 is comprised of what will be termed a finger piece 3!), an integral arm 32 extending into the recess 2d, adjacent the top wall 20, and lateral walls or brace members 34 which will be integral with the finger piece 30 and the arm 32. These lateral walls or brace members 34 are apertured as at 36 to receive a pivot pin 38 which also is extended through the side walls 22, so that the finger lift 28 is pivoted within the recess 24 and with the arm 32 adjacent to and 3 parallel to the top wall 2i) of the casing when the finger lift is in one position.

A catch, generally indicated at 4B, is slidably mounted within the guide 42, this guide having attachment flanges 44 secured by bolts 01' screws 46 on the top wall 20, and this guide also has a bore 48 which registers with an aperture 5!! in the top wall 20 of the casing. The catch 40 includes a shank portion 52 and a head 54, the head being enlarged so that a shoulder is formed at the junction of the head and shank. The head is beveled on one side according to conventional practice. A coiled spring is arranged coaxially of the shank 52 and is compressed between the inner end of the head 54, that is, the aforementioned shoulder, and the outer surface of the top wall 20, it being understood that the shank is of a smaller diameter than the bore 48.

The environment wherewith this invention is used will ordinarily also include a stop plate 58 secured by screws 6!! within a recess in the fixed member l2, and the head 54 will be used to engage this stop plate 58 when the drawer or other closure member wherewith this invention is used is in closed position.

The operative connection between the shank 52 and the arm 32 is accomplished by providing a bifurcated portion 62 on the inner end of the arm 32, this bifurcated portion straddling the inner end of the shank 52 and directly engaging a transverse member 64 on this inner end of the shank 52, the transverse member ordinarily comprising either a pair of integral ears diametrically oppositely disposed on the shank, or equivalent structure such as a cotter key inserted through the shank, the latter construction being illustrated in the drawings.

The operation of this invention will be clearly understood from a consideration of the foregoing description and the mechanical details thereof, taken in connection with the drawings and the above recited objects. In recapitulation, it may be added that when the operators fingers are inserted into the recess 24 to engage the finger piece 30, the closure member may be unlatched by the action of the arm 32' in pulling the catch 40 downwardly out of engagement with the stop plate 58. The spring 56 will return the catch 40 to its original position when the fingers are removed.

Obviously, this device need not be operated with the device disposed as indicated. It will be clear that a highly practical and utilitarian device is provided by this invention.

Having described the invention, what is claimed K as new is:

l. A latch assembly comprising a casing having Walls defining a recess, said walls having a flange disposed peripherally of the mouth of said recess and extending outwardly from the mouth of the recess and comprising an attachment plate, a finger lift pivoted on the casing and having a finger piece substantially co-planar with said flange and an arm extending into said recess, a catch having a shank extending through one of said walls and operatively connected with said arm, a guide having a bore and removably secured exteriorly to said one wall, said catch having a beveled head and a shank, a spring coaxially mounted on said shank compressed between said head and the exterior surface of said one wall, said arm having a bifurcated portion and said shank having a removable transverse member directly and frictionally engaged by said bifurcated portion.

2. 'A latch assembly comprising a casing having complemental top, bottom, and side Walls defining an open front receiver, laterally disposed fiange means integral with said walls and providing a facing and attaching plate, said top wall being centrally recessed and providing a keyway, the latter having a guide hole, a guide fixture including a bored body with a portion keyed in said keyway, said body having outstanding flanges separably fastened atop said top wall, the bore in said body being polygonal in crosssection, a catch having a polygonal head reciprocable in said bore and a reduced shank operable in the bore and extending through said guide hole into said receiver, a coiled spring 10- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 264,539 Kempshall Sept. 19, 1882 283,896 Kempshall Aug. 28, 1883 621,600 Caldwell Mar. 21, 1899 1,792,137 Bethke Feb. 10, 1931 2,236,391 Zabel Mar. 25, 1941 2,534,693 Adams Dec. 19, 1950 

